Chocolate Cream Brownies

Chocolate Cream Brownies

Dorcas Annette Walker

I’ve been busy canning green beans lately. In fact now-a-days my kitchen is like a canning factory. For the past four years I was unable to can much due to poor health and my bountiful supply of green beans became exhausted. We ended having to eat store-bought green beans. To a person who has always eaten the store variety of green beans they cannot begin to understand the quandary of going from home-canned to store-bought. There simply is no comparison. So this year I have been actively replenishing my pantry. Between loading my canner with quarts of green beans I decided to whip up a batch of brownies. Brownies are a perfect snack to give energy for canning, take along on a picnic this summer, or to have on hand for family reunions.

The first known recipe for brownies is published in an 1897 Sears Roebuck Catalogue. A demand for chocolate recipes emerged in the beginning of the 20th century when mass production of chocolate made chocolate affordable to everyone. Different companies began to aggressively advertise and promote chocolate. Folklore has it that the origin of brownies evolved from a careless cook who forgot to add baking powder in a chocolate cake batter. Since that first mistake of an unknown cook, there has developed almost as many brownie recipes as there are cooks. The name brownie comes from the deep brown color. Beginning brownie recipes and today’s classic brownies are rich in butter and melted chocolate with no leavening except for a couple of eggs and flour.

Brownies are often one of the first recipes children attempt to bake. Today there are several varieties of brownie mixes to choose from making it easy to turn out perfect brownies every time. Just be careful not to over-mix the ingredients, which can cause the brownies to be tough or over-bake the brownies, which results in dry brownies. Brownies are not considered a low-calorie treat, especially when frostings or toppings are added, but the rich chocolate mixture is an ultimate sensory delight.

My Chocolate Cream Brownie recipe evolved from wanting to jazz up a plain brown mix for a youth group. I decided to combine a jar of marshmallow cream and a bag of chocolate chips as a topping instead of my usual well-known peanut butter frosting. The rich moist chocolate with a gooey marshmallow chocolate topping was an instant hit with the teens. I have made these elegant easy-to-make Chocolate Cream Brownies several times since. My Chocolate Cream Brownies takes a total of forty minutes to prepare and this recipe serves sixteen.

Chocolate Cream Brownies

Bake a pan of plain brownies (your choice of brand) for thirty minutes at 350º.
While still hot spread a 7 oz jar of marshmallow cream on top and bake for five minutes. Sprinkle a 12 oz bag of semisweet chocolate chips on top of the melted marshmallow cream. Bake for five more minutes and smooth out the softened chocolate chips with a knife. Cool and serve. Store any leftover brownies in an airtight container!

Weekly tip: For chewy brownies always use two eggs. Also semisweet chocolate chips produce a creamier texture compared to unsweetened chocolate chips!

Dorcas Annette Walker is a published author, syndicated columnist, speaker, freelance magazine writer, and photographer from Jamestown, Tennessee. Contact her at: dorcaswalker@twlakes.net For more recipes check out her Creative Mountain Cookin page at: www.dorcasannettewalker.com